Abstract
Purpose
The clinical impact of burnout is known to threaten patient care[1], but the personal impact is much more difficult to measure. In Victoria, Australia, employment as a paramedic/Ambulance clinician has been found to correlate to a four-fold higher suicide rate than the average population[2]. Both educational and health service organisations have a responsibility to equip and encourage student clinicians and staff to address this issue. We set out to determine the extent and effects of burnout in pre-hospital clinical medicine, and identify what strategies exist to manage this problem.
Methods
We conducted a literature review to identify evidence relating to burnout and chronic stress in pre-hospital clinicians
Results
While there is an increasing prevalence of studies relating to burnout in medical practice, very few address the unique context and pressures of ambulance practice. Emergency physicians have been found to have the highest rates of burnout compared to other medical specialties in a recent study[3]. In the groups studied, Emergency physicians face the most similar work challenges to pre-hospital emergency health professionals. Mindfulness is presented as a strategy demonstrated to mitigate burnout in some clinical education settings.
Conclusion
As tomorrow's clinicians are trained and supported to nourish their emotional resilience as a preventative tool against burnout, the personal and clinical impact is expected to lessen.
1. El-bar, N., et al. (2013). "Compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction among family physicians in the Negev area-a cross-sectional study." Israel journal of health policy research 2(1): 31.
2. Hennessey, J. (2015). Working together to improve paramedic mental health. Melbourne, Australia, State Government of Victoria.
3. Shanafelt, T. D., et al. (2012). "Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance among US physicians relative to the general US population." Archives of internal medicine 172(18): 1377-1385.
The clinical impact of burnout is known to threaten patient care[1], but the personal impact is much more difficult to measure. In Victoria, Australia, employment as a paramedic/Ambulance clinician has been found to correlate to a four-fold higher suicide rate than the average population[2]. Both educational and health service organisations have a responsibility to equip and encourage student clinicians and staff to address this issue. We set out to determine the extent and effects of burnout in pre-hospital clinical medicine, and identify what strategies exist to manage this problem.
Methods
We conducted a literature review to identify evidence relating to burnout and chronic stress in pre-hospital clinicians
Results
While there is an increasing prevalence of studies relating to burnout in medical practice, very few address the unique context and pressures of ambulance practice. Emergency physicians have been found to have the highest rates of burnout compared to other medical specialties in a recent study[3]. In the groups studied, Emergency physicians face the most similar work challenges to pre-hospital emergency health professionals. Mindfulness is presented as a strategy demonstrated to mitigate burnout in some clinical education settings.
Conclusion
As tomorrow's clinicians are trained and supported to nourish their emotional resilience as a preventative tool against burnout, the personal and clinical impact is expected to lessen.
1. El-bar, N., et al. (2013). "Compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction among family physicians in the Negev area-a cross-sectional study." Israel journal of health policy research 2(1): 31.
2. Hennessey, J. (2015). Working together to improve paramedic mental health. Melbourne, Australia, State Government of Victoria.
3. Shanafelt, T. D., et al. (2012). "Burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance among US physicians relative to the general US population." Archives of internal medicine 172(18): 1377-1385.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | AP068 |
| Pages (from-to) | e48-e49 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Resuscitation |
| Volume | 106 |
| Issue number | Supplement 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2016 |
| Event | European Resuscitation Congress 2016 - Reykjavik, Iceland Duration: 24 Sept 2016 → 25 Sept 2016 |
Keywords
- burnout
- Wellbeing
- chronic stress